By Zephyria 
There were many comrades close to me in Duke Ernhardt’s Territory.
Once the walls were raised and buildings were erected on the once-barren land, not only refugees reminiscing about the old Grimsbein Territory but millions of people with their own reasons sought out the territory to build a better life.
Naturally, a great deal of manpower was needed to care for the people and cultivate the land. Thankfully, my comrades sent word that they would lend a hand.
Damian went as far as bringing several of his acquaintances and moved his residency to Duke Ernhardt’s Territory, and Ivan opened an Ernhardt branch of the Eldos Merchant Guild and visited frequently. In addition, various faces I had often encountered at the Academy, knights from Withrow, and numerous talented individuals from Valentia and Ernhardt moved their affiliations to take charge of various positions.
Comrades who had to lead their own families contributed money to the development of the territory, using the excuse of acquiring villas. Although I wasn’t lacking in funds, I accepted it all out of gratitude for their sincerity, and we spent time together whenever they visited.
Among them, the first ones to arrive were the Philodendor couple.
To install portals, Marianne had traveled across the Empire and visited all five of Sierren’s Magic Towers. Thanks to that, she had a thorough understanding of the personnel structure, operational methods, and research facilities of each tower.
Furthermore, Marianne was a traditional wizard who had graduated from Shierun Academy with excellent grades; she possessed a remarkable talent for mediating disputes among prickly wizards and was a great asset capable of communicating not only with research mages but also with civilians.
Citing these various reasons, Rubel appointed Marianne as the Tower Lord of the newly established 6th Magic Tower in Duke Ernhardt’s Territory.
Becoming the youngest Tower Lord since the founding of the Sierran Empire, she held a grand wedding in Duke Ernhardt’s Territory, adorned with strings of symbolic gems.
Hugh Benson, who had been appointed as the captain of the royal guard of Duke Ernhardt’s Territory, made sarcastic remarks about how it seemed like a small circle of friends was taking over everything, but Ruben insisted there was no better fit, and since Marianne herself was delighted, I was also very satisfied with the appointment.
I asked again, looking at Marianne, who couldn’t take her eyes off the baby’s round face.
“What brings you here?”
“I came to see my husband, so I thought I’d just stop by to say hello. Why, am I not allowed to come?”
“Not at all. I was just wondering why you didn’t come sooner.”
“Goodness, you certainly have a way with words.”
Benjamin, who now bore the name Benjamin Philodendor, was serving as an escort knight at the very center of Ernhardt. This was not because of his closeness to me, but because he possessed strong basic physical strength, was young and quick-witted, and knew Titi’s true identity, meaning he wouldn’t find it strange if the baby acted violently.
I knew Ruben had given various instructions before leaving the mansion, but I hadn’t expected Benjamin to bring Marianne the moment Titi’s move to the annex was scheduled.
As I stood there bewildered, Marianne’s fingertips gently wiped the round cheeks of Titi, which were flushed with heat rashes.
“But why are our Titi’s pretty eyes so moist?”
“Auntieeee.”
Originally, in Sierren, children under five were not allowed outside. This was to prevent infant sudden death caused by infectious diseases.
Titi, born from a dragon’s egg, was not subject to this, but instead of spreading the secret of her birth, I forbade outside guests according to human customs.
However, Marianne, who knew well how Titi was born, visited often, claiming she would check if there were any issues with the child’s growth and development instead of Spiritus.
Inwardly, I suspected that Marianne, being a wizard, was interested in a dragon baby, but I allowed it as I welcomed the presence of a female adult for the girl Titi to emulate.
Titi also followed Marianne, who treated her kindly, as if she were a blood relative. Gano Paquin was the first to teach Titi how to say “aunt,” “auntie,” and “uncle,” but since the gods had each returned to their own places, the only ones benefiting from those lessons so far were Marianne and Benjamin.
“Give her to me. Let’s see why our Titi is so angry.”
“…She’s on her way to be scolded right now.”
“Did His Majesty not say that you shouldn’t kiss a baby on their way to be scolded?”
“…”
“Just give her to me. Oh, she’s absolutely soaked. Did you exercise with your daddy?”
“Nooo. Daddy hated Titi.”
“Hated you? That’s strange, what could our pretty Titi have done to be hated?”
By then, I gave up and unwrapped the blanket that had been bundled around the child.
Titi immediately leaped from my arms and clung to Marianne’s feet.
After causing such a scene just a moment ago, seeing her act pretty and well-behaved now somehow irritated me. It wasn’t the first or second time this little one had acted differently depending on who she was with, but seeing myself get worked up every time made me realize my mind was still not sufficiently disciplined.
As Marianne lifted Titi up, the child’s mouth pressed close to Marianne’s ear. Since I was also curious as to why the child had been so upset and throwing a fit, I listened closely to Titi’s whispering voice.
“There are three sparkly buttons, but Titi couldn’t do even one.”
“You couldn’t do even one? Why not?”
“Because Daddy did them all! Daddy is a greedy-guts.”
“You said ‘Titi will do it,’ but Daddy still did them all?”
“Yeah. Daddy did, did them all.”
Now I understood why this little one had suddenly become grumpy.
The child, whose hands were not yet nimble despite being strong, did not know how to handle objects delicately. In particular, small items like buttons were not only ripped off but occasionally crushed in her grip.
There were three buttons on her newly tailored clothes, and she had thrown that fit because I helped her since she couldn’t fasten them properly.
As Marianne looked at me with a subtle smile, I protested in disbelief.
“When did you ever say ‘Titi will do it’? You said the buttons were too small and you couldn’t do it.”
“No! I hate Daddy. I’m talking to Auntie, why is Daddy listening?”
“What is this now…”
“Is this a secret story only for Auntie?”
“Yes! It’s a secret story.”
Then she puffed out her cheeks with a huff.
When Benjamin, who was watching from the side, clicked his tongue and looked at me, Titi, excited to have two people on her side, continued to pretend to be angry, stomping her feet.
“Secret” was the word Justitia was most obsessed with lately.
After making the child cry once by asking if a secret that everyone already knows is still a secret, I had been pretending not to know, but it was still an emotion I couldn’t understand.
Then, Marianne began to persuade her, pretending to take the child’s side in a gentle voice.
“Shall Auntie tell you a secret too?”
“Huh? Yes. What secret?”
“Auntie couldn’t fasten buttons when she was a baby too. But look now, I’m really good at it.”
As Marianne slowly unfastened and then refastened Titi’s frayed sleeve button, the baby, who had been watching intently as if it were the most important thing in the world, burst into laughter. “Again, again!” At her urging, she unfastened and refastened it again.
My gaze lingered on those round cheeks, where a bright smile had bloomed as if she had never cried.
“How?”
“Auntie learned from her daddy. Her daddy taught her while fastening the buttons like this.”
“Me too, me too. Ruben Daddy teaches me. But Mika Daddy does it alone.”
“That’s mean. Now Mika Daddy will do it while teaching you too.”
“Why?”
“Because you just explained and told Mika Daddy and Auntie Marianne step-by-step why Titi was angry. If he knows the reason, he can fix it.”
“…Hmph.”
“Do you want to make up with Daddy?”
“…”
“Not yet?”
“Yes. Still angry.”
“Why?”
“Daddy did something wrong, but I’m going to the annex.”
Good grief.
Looking at the way she weighed right and wrong, she was practically a judge. How could that tiny head be so busy?
As Marianne glanced at me, I obediently nodded and reached out my arms. Facing that teary face that was glancing at me, debating whether to forgive me or not, I quietly declared my defeat.
“Daddy was wrong. Daddy should go to the annex alone.”
“…Sorry?”
“Yes. Titi could do it alone, but Daddy didn’t know that. Tell me next time.”
“Hmm… I’ll forgive you. Daddy, don’t go to the annex either.”
“Alright, let’s do that. From next time, tell me in words why you’re angry; you mustn’t throw things.”
“Mm.”
The baby, with her arms crossed, nodded and hummed in agreement. At that, Benjamin lowered his head and turned away. Benjamin was particularly unable to keep his composure whenever Titi imitated my speech habits.
I also bit the inside of my cheek to suppress a laugh.
After contemplating for a long while, Titi stretched out her right hand toward me.
“Okay. It’s a promise.”
“Alright.”
Holding Titi’s hand, which was still clumsy at extending a single finger, I hooked my pinky finger with hers and shook it. It was both funny and absurd that I had been fighting since morning with this tiny thing, whose entire hand was not even as large as one of my fingers.
As I took back Titi, who came back to be held quietly in my arms, Marianne gave a mischievous grin.
“First, I…”
“You were going to say, ‘Since I’m already here, let me have a cup of tea before I go,’ right?”
“…Yes. I’ll just change Titi’s clothes first and then come out.”
“I’ll help tie her hair, so just bring the ribbons. See you later, Titi.”
“Yes! See you later, Auntie. I love you, Auntie~.”
“Yes, Auntie loves Titi very much too.”
I really don’t know how both Ruben and Marianne are so good at coaxing such a complicated baby.
The child, clinging tightly to my chest, rubbed her forehead against my neck. Her messy hair was ticklish and soft, and for some reason, she felt pitiful.
As I gently stroked her, the words naturally poured out.
“Daddy loves Titi too.”
“…Titi also loves Daddy.”
“Alright. That’s enough.”
* * *
What kind of magic did she work?
Titi, touched by Marianne’s hands, was strikingly pretty and cute. I couldn’t tell how such a small and dainty thing was a human and not a doll.
Her hair was braided into five strands on each side and tied high, creating fairy-like loops with the braids, through which strings of gems were threaded and dangling.
Titi, seeing herself in the mirror, was thrilled, her mouth opening wide in excitement.
Seeing that she was pretty whether she cried or laughed, she truly resembled Ruben. I had spent over forty minutes waiting for her to get dressed, but seeing her appearance, the day’s hardships seemed to wash away completely.
In a great mood, Titi sat in a corner of the drawing room, busy playing house with Benjamin. At first, Benjamin had been flustered whenever the baby’s attention turned to him, but after realizing that Titi was much stronger than he thought, he often played along with her.
Today, the two of them tore down the tapestry that had been attached to the wall and spread it out like a rug, bringing out all the gem-encrusted chess pieces and naming them “this is the hero,” “this is the priest,” and “this is the wizard.”
The chess pieces went on an adventure following the patterns of the tapestry. Watching Benjamin struggle to stop Titi, who occasionally smashed the chess pieces against the sofa or table, claiming they were villains, made my chest feel tight again.
Still, it was a relief that Benjamin wasn’t so weak that his arm would break in Titi’s hands. Since Benjamin also looked cheerful while playing along, I set my mind at ease and let them play.
Marianne, sitting opposite me and holding the neatly poured tea, smiled faintly.
“So, when is His Majesty coming? There’s a payment document that keeps getting rejected.”
“I heard he’ll be back in three days, but he seems completely preoccupied. Something about developing or sending something along the East Sea coastline.”
“Ah, that.”
“Why are you smiling?”
“No, it’s just funny thinking about how Shayden will be disgusted again.”
“Shayden?”
“House of Rose also borders the East Sea. He’ll get a lot of work and a lot of money; he’ll be very happy.”
“How mischievous.”
“Well, it’s not a bad thing. By the way, did you hear the news yesterday?”
“What news?”